Last season, Shippensburg came back from being down two touchdowns with under two minutes left to beat Bishop McDevitt in the PIAA District 3 semifinal.

The Greyhounds found themselves in a similar position this year on a frigid Friday night, only this time it was the opening round of the playoff, and at Bishop McDevitt instead of home.

After entering halftime trailing the Crusaders 21-0. Shippensburg fought back to get the game within distance, trailing 28-15 in the fourth quarter.

But there wasn't the same magic this season, as Bishop McDevitt ended the Greyhounds season with a decisive 43-22 win, surviving four lost fumbles.

Shippensburg head coach Eric Foust was proud of his team's fight despite the loss.

"I was really pleased with the effort of our kids," Foust said. "One of the advantages we've developed over the years is that our kids are comfortable in a playoff situation. We may not win them all, but the stage isn't too big for our kids, and that's something to be proud of as a program."

TURNING POINT: Crusader quarterback Chase Diehl was tremendous despite the freezing temperatures, and made perhaps his biggest play of the game as the first half neared its end, finding T'Nyis Becker for a 67-yard touchdown to put Bishop McDevitt up 21 points heading into the intermission.

HIGHLIGHT PLAY: There were some bright spots for Shippensburg, but Adam Houser made one of the best plays of the evening for either team. Late in the third quarter, the junior running back hauled in a pass from quarterback Carter Van Scyoc and utilized his elusiveness to dip and angle away from defenders, taking the ball 66 yards to Bishop McDevitt's two-yard line. The Greyhounds would score after that and convert a two-point conversion to bring the deficit down to 13, making things interesting for a little bit late in the game.

Foust said it's nice to see his star running back finally 100% after suffering a high ankle sprain early in the year.

"He's finally healthy," Foust said. "You look at the sprain, he came back and worked really hard, but to say he was healthy through the season [wouldn't be accurate.] But man, over the last few weeks, he's really figured some things out."

BIGGEST SURPRISE: For a team that won by 21 points, it was shocking to see just how sloppy the Crusaders were. Perhaps it was the cold, but Bishop McDevitt fumbled eight times, and lost four of them to the Greyhounds, while also racking up over 100 yards in penalties.

Foust said his team was prepared for the temperature, saying the gameplan didn't change because of the cold.

"We practiced outside all week," Foust said. "And it was cold all week."

The game could have been a much bigger blowout if it weren't for those avoidable mistakes, and, in fact, the Crusaders are lucky that Shippensburg didn't take advantage of more of the errors.

MVP: Diehl was out of this world despite how tough the weather was to play in, throwing for 416 yards on just 14 completions, while tallying three touchdowns in the air and not throwing any interceptions. He kept rifling the ball away despite the turnovers, and the Greyhounds simply had no answer for the junior's cannon arm leading the big-play Crusader offense.

OUTLOOK: With this game being the final contest of quarterback Carter Van Scyoc's high school career, the Greyhounds will miss the steadying presence he provided come next season.

"What a kiddo," Foust said of the quarterback. "I'm so proud of the young man he's become, inside and outside of football. He's just a class act, and you'd love to have a kid like him every year."

But with the explosiveness Houser has shown all season, Shippensburg has plenty to look forward to, with head coach Eric Foust having all offseason to further gameplan for his talented, multi-dimensional running back.